5 Times Dan Hated Being Called Short, and 1 Time He Didn't Mind
by harambelives
Summary: 5 snapshots from Dan's life where he resented his height, and 1 instance where he didn't completely hate his existence.
1. Childhood

5 times Dan hated being called short, and 1 time he didn't

Dan Mandel had always been small. It was just how he was made: short in height and short in temper, and that was all there was to it. Most of the time, this didn't really bother Dan. So what if he was small? Being short never stopped him from getting even with whatever jerk of the day had dared to cross his path and do him wrong. It's not like his height made him less than everyone else, right? Right.

So! I haven't written fanfic since I was about 12. I'm 17 now, so I figured I'd give it another shot. Please enjoy and review!

1\. Childhood

A harsh blow to the wall made Danny jerk in surprise. Clutching Brutus ever tighter, the small boy glared in the direction of the living room where his lovely parents were currently engaged in a knock-down drag out of a fight, complete with screamed insults and tossed objects. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Can't these people ever give it a rest?" he muttered to the worn bear in his arms. "Some of us are TRYING to get work done." Snarling exasperated complaints under his breath, Danny resumed scribbling with his crayon on the sheet of paper he had carefully balanced on a bedraggled folder. (He was rather fond of that folder- it had a crew of adorable kittens on the cover.) With a final flourish, the boy tossed his crayon away and lifted Brutus up into the air with a satisfied grin.

"Finally, Brutus! My plot is complete!" Danny cackled and grabbed the paper containing his ingenious plan, waving it around in triumphant glee. "We'll see if those kids hog the sandbox again after we're done with 'em, my friend!" Immediately after this exclamation, something slammed into the wall again, jolting the small bed shoved up against its surface. Danny cried out in surprise and dropped both the sheet of paper and Brutus. "No, Brutus!" he exclaimed, leaping off the bed and swiping the animal up of the ground. After checking to make sure his companion was unharmed, Danny turned on his heel and threw open his door, face locked in a thunderous scowl. He stomped down the hall, Brutus dangling by his side.

"First they interrupt my planning, THEN they make me drop Brutus- I've had it!" The small boy continued to huff and puff as he neared the entrance to the living room. However, before he could turn the corner, a plate flew and crashed into the wall, shattering on contact and flinging shards all around the room. Danny stuttered to a halt, immediately leaping back to avoid being cut by the debris. Sharing a wide-eyed look with Brutus, Danny inched forward (nudging a few errant plate pieces out of the way) and pressed his body against the wall, just out of sight of the living room and its inhabitants. He swallowed and began to listen closely to his parents' argument.

"-do it anymore, Mark!" his mother, Janet, screamed, voice hoarse from the drawn out shouting match. "I can't live in this house anymore, I can't live in this fucking life anymore! I hate you! I hate all of you!" Danny's father sucked in a shocked breath at the admission. "I- did you actually just say that? Are you fucking kidding me, Janet? You can't live in this house anymore? YOU can't handle this life? Are you actually fucking kidding me?" Mark's voice got higher and more incredulous as he continued his response. "YOU'RE the reason everything is so messed up! You don't have a job, you're constantly pissed off about something, you don't pick up after yourself, and you're irresponsible- you fucking forgot to pick up Danny from school and didn't tell me about it till almost eight o'clock that night!"

Janet let out an ugly, mocking laugh.

"Oh, oh, of course. It's all my fault! I'm the problem, of course. I forget to pick up that little shrimp from school ONE TIME, and suddenly I'm the bad guy." Her voice dropped to a syrupy sweet tone. "Well, honey, maybe I would have remembered to pick up sweet little Danny if he wasn't such a sweet little pain in my ass!" Unaware that her son was listening in horror just around the corner, Janet continued on her furious tirade.

"Danny, Danny, Danny- it's always about him!" she hissed, jabbing a sharp nail into her stunned husband's chest. "Danny got in trouble today. Danny got sent to the principal's office today. Danny covered some kids in glitter glue and threw them into a poison ivy patch because they made fun of his stupid bear today. I'm fucking tired of it, Mark!" Janet shoved the taller man and he stumbled backwards a step, still too shocked to respond. "I was so excited to be a mother, and this is what I'm saddled with? A stupid, trouble-making runt of a son who still talks to a stuffed bear because all the other kids hate his guts? It's all your fault!"

With each malicious word, Danny felt something inside of him crack. He slid down the wall and blocked out the sound of his father's enraged response. Curling up in the hallway, the small boy wrapped his arms around Brutus and buried his face in the bear's stomach. With his mother's cruel words floating around in his head, Danny, for the first time, resented being small.


	2. High School

So sorry this took so long! It's actually been sitting in my notes forever lol. I'm pretty lazy. On that note, the next chapter may take a bit as I haven't actually watched Dan Vs in a while. But- I'm determined to finish a fic for once! Anyway, please enjoy!

* * *

Ah, Pasadena Public High School. A rotten cesspool of vacant teenagers, aggressive jocks, and tepid, childish drama. Needless to say, high school was number three on Dan's list of things he hates with all his heart and soul. (Numbers one and two would be his mother and grandmother, respectively.) Grumbling darkly, Dan leaned against his locker and stuffed his hands in his pockets, ignoring all the chatter and bustle of the school hallway.

"Dan!" he heard. Craning his neck, Dan spotted his best minion, Chris, headed his way. Not like that was hard, however- in stark contrast to Dan's extremely modest 5"4, Chris Pearson stood at a whopping 6"0, and was expected to grow at least two more inches.

Dan loathed him.

"Dan, hey, good morning!" Chris repeated with a good natured smile. Reaching both his best friend and his locker, Chris entered his combination and began to get his books for the day, all the while chattering about this and that. "Didja finish the Chem homework last night? Man, those alpha decay problems were tough! I swear Mr. McLaughlin skipped that section, there's no way we went over it! It went straight over my head, no joke…um, Dan?" Chris finally noticed his friend's lack of response, and looked down with a perplexed expression. "Dan, you okay?"

Dan grunted and shoved his hands deeper in his pockets. Chris frowned. "Okay, buddy, you're really freaking me out. What's up, are you sick or something?" With a loud, drawn out groan, Dan threw his hands up into the air, nearly smacking Chris in the face. "Yes, I'm fine!" he snapped, glaring up at his only friend. "God, you talk too much." Silence fell between the pair, as Chris was now slightly offended and Dan was still moodily silent. Dan pressed his lips together and glanced down at the floor. "I gotta go to class." He mumbled, tone holding a trace of guilt. "I'll….I'll see you at lunch."

With that, Dan stormed off down the hall and was quickly swallowed up by the hordes of students making their way to class. After a moment of confused staring, Chris sighed, shut his locker, and joined the throng. It was one of those days, then.

* * *

Lunch arrived quickly and Chris was already at his and Dan's normal table, tray piled sky high with food. Hey, he was a growing boy, after all! Chris was so occupied with his meal that he didn't notice Dan's arrival until a chair beside him was swiftly yanked back and a small body threw itself down into the seat.

"Oh, hey Dan!" Chris greeted in a muffled and vaguely choked voice, cheeks stuffed with food. "Hey." Dan responded quietly. Chris's chewing slowed immediately, and when he swallowed his food he didn't dive for another bite. Dan, being quiet? It really was one of those days. Chris pushed his tray to the center of the table so he could brace an arm there, leaning in towards his uncommonly quiet friend. "…what's up, buddy?" he asked after a moment. "Nothing's up, idiot." Dan snapped, crossing his arms and picking at his jacket's sleeve. Chris's eyes immediately zeroed in on the movement.

"Dan, c'mon, I know you only mess with your jacket when something's bothering you. Seriously, what happened?" Dan let out a sharp sigh of annoyance and stilled his agitated fingers, green eyes dark and angry. "Oh my god, seriously? Nothing's wrong!" he spit, even as he refused to meet his friend's gaze. "Shut up and stop asking! Eat your literal mountain of food and leave me alone!" When Chris didn't reply, Dan shoved his chair back and began to stalk out of the cafeteria, audibly muttering under his breath about 'annoying sasquatches who don't know how to shut their pie-holes'. With a longing glance at his food, Chris reluctantly abandoned the table and followed after his friend.

Dan was halfway down the hallway before Chris managed to catch up with him. "Man, for such a little guy, you can move really fast when you want to- oof!" Suddenly and in quick succession, Dan spun around, slammed his fist into Chris's gut, and yanked the taller boy down to his level. "Don't. Call Me. Little." he hissed venomously, eyes narrowing until only a small slit of green remained. Chris coughed as his collar was released, and he immediately jumped back from his enraged friend. "W-What the heck, Dan? I-I- why would you do that?"

Without responding, Dan stomped over the nearest wall of lockers and flung himself to the ground, bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his chin on them. Chris stared at him warily for a moment, but eventually followed, folding his long limbs into a similar pose. "Dan, please." Chris spoke after a beat. "I'm just…" he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm worried about you. Is it- I mean- did your….did she say something again?" he finally asked, stuttering over the question and allowing his words to blend together into a mash of nervous inquiry. Dan stared straight forward, eyes unfocused, before he sighed and turned to look up at his friend. "How come you can never let it go, huh, lummox?" With a roll of his eyes, Dan slumped back against the lockers and resumed picking at his jacket sleeve.

"Yeah, of course it was her. When is it not her?" The small teenager muttered breaking eye contact. "She was just- I dunno, being herself this morning. Yelling at me about how I'm a huge disappointment for being such a little shit, that sort of stuff. The usual." Chris pursed his lips and slid a little closer. "Well, not to sound, um, insensitive or anything, but doesn't she kinda talk to you like that all the time? What was different about today?"

Dan grew still.

"…..my dad sent us a letter." he grudgingly admitted. "She was mad about whatever it said, I guess. Dunno what it said. She tore it up and threw it away right in front of me." Dan scoffed bitterly. "She doesn't like it that he still tries to talk to me. Lemme tell you, that harpy can hold a grudge. Very unhealthy, very draining." The 'for me' went unsaid.

At his friend's admission, Chris felt his chest clench up. Staring down at his small- no. Staring down at his best friend, Chris found himself furious at Dan's mother, for being so selfish and cruel to break her son down just to boost up her own ego. He just couldn't help himself- Dan jolted when he felt two large arms encircle him and pull him into a hug. With his face pressed to a lightly stained shirt, Dan wanted to break away and yell and rage at Chris for daring to trap him in such an uncomfortable embrace. Yet, for some reason, Dan let himself relax into the hug, cheeks burning red. "Don't you ever mention this to anyone, you hear me?" he muttered into his friend's chest.

"Wouldn't dream of it, buddy."


End file.
